Florida Property Tax Issue

[alligatorob]

Florida - I purchased a rental house in September 2007, I paid $135,000. In November I got a 2007 tax bill showing an assessed value of $104,160 and $1,637.21 tax bill. I paid the bill right away to get the early payment discount.

Today I got a refund from the county of $1,576.73 and a new copy of the bill showing a valuation of $4,000 with a tax bill of $60.48. I read things closely and it is the same Property ID Number, the same Tax Bill number, and the same property description. Only the valuation and taxes have changed. I checked the county tax collectors website and it shows my property taxes have been paid in full, and the low valuation and tax amount. I did a county wide search under my name just to make sure they did not have some other tax bill I owed and I found none. This is a new house on a newly subdivided piece of property so there is no past records for this particular parcel; not as a stand alone piece anyway.

Now I know the market is bad down here, but not that bad. This has to be some kind of mistake; my dilemma is what to do about it. It seems to me that my options are either to cash the refund check and hope they never come back on me or to call the county and point out the error. I would sure rather keep the money than give it back. My question is what would be the legal consequences of just keeping the money and keeping quiet?

Any reasonable advice will be appreciated. I am basically an honest taxpayer, but if the government has made an honest mistake why embarrass them by pointing it out?

 

[divgradcurl]

I would sure rather keep the money than give it back. My question is what would be the legal consequences of just keeping the money and keeping quiet?

The county recognizes their mistake, and then sues you (or puts a lien on your property, or both) for the money back, plus interest. It's not your money, you know it.

I am basically an honest taxpayer, but if the government has made an honest mistake why embarrass them by pointing it out?

If you overpaid your taxes by $4000 by mistake, would it be okay for the government to keep that money to avoid embarrasing you?

EDIT: Contact your tax assessor and let them know what happened. Do not cash the check. It may take time, but this mistake will get resolved.

 

[seniorjudge]

...
Any reasonable advice will be appreciated. I am basically an honest taxpayer, but if the government has made an honest mistake why embarrass them by pointing it out?
...

Oh.


Brother.

 

[HomeGuru]

Too funny. An embarrasing government, now isn't that a new concept.

 

[CraigFL]

Most likely, the Seller paid for their taxes at closing which was the largest part of the bill plus you paid for your part then because the closer would pay the 2007 tax bill. Typically, in FL, the property gets reassessed after the sale because of things like the 3% cap on Homstead property we have here-- which means your taxes will be higher. I'm not sure if the new assessment starts the day you bought it or Jan 1, 2008 but your tax assessor shouild be able to help you.

 

[alligatorob]

Most likely, the Seller paid for their taxes at closing which was the largest part of the bill plus you paid for your part then because the closer would pay the 2007 tax bill.

No, I was credited the seller's portion of the taxes so I have to pay the whole bill. This is a new house so the 2007 bill was the first time this parcel was taxed as subdivided or developed property.

The refund check is still sitting uncashed on my desk while I mull over the legal, moral and other issues. Thanks to everyone for the advice, I can see no one seems to like the idea of keeping quiet to keep the government from losing face over this****************************

 

[alligatorob]

The worm has turned!

Ok based on all the good advice I got here I went to the county to point out what I thought was their error. The good news is that they were right in refunding the money and the first tax bill was in error. It turns out that since the CO was not issued until September of 2007 the property should be assessed at its predevelopment value for 2007, the 2008 taxes will reflect the developed value. So it was me, not the government that was embarrassed.

Now my new moral/legal dilemma, at closing the seller gave me a credit of something like $1500 to cover their share of the 2007 taxes. What is my obligation to let them know of this and give that money back? The seller was a bank; I purchased this at auction after foreclosure.

Thanks,